Laurent

CEO Paper, Southern Europe

It’s a good company with great people, so whatever the future holds it will be interesting and challenging, and I look forward to it.

What does one working week look like?

Waking up on Monday and finding out that it’s Friday already… It’s very varied with lots of different topics, and never a second to spare, ranging from operational matter to financial reviews, and of course a lot of time spent on people.

What does the future hold?

It’s a good company with great people, so whatever the future holds it will be interesting and challenging, and I look forward to it. I think paper and packaging is a constant changing world and will change again in the future. Sustainability will become one of the most important aspect of making business for industry, and we will have to manage the transition from a world of unlimited resources, to a world mindful of its resources. Equally in a world where dematerialised wealth creation lead to a global crash, industry has a key role to play in the future.

What advice would you give someone considering joining Smurfit Kappa?

I would not give advice, I would just highlight how the company works from my standpoint so that people can decide that joining us is not incompatible with their aspirations.The two key elements for me would be as follow:

Everyone has an option to build his own career and meritocracy is strongly engrained in the company culture, so the key for success is the willingness to deliver on objectives,

Someone who is looking for a stable, and predictive environment should seek a different company